Thirteen Voices
by Jander Panell
Summary: A poetic perspective from each Organization member. FINAL UPDATE: Poem VI, "Masks," is up. "Glittering half masks of drama, bulbous-cheeked masks of laughter/All illusions"
1. God

**Thirteen Voices**

_I. God_

This is very bizarre, and my first ever real fling at writing Kingdom Hearts poetry...I wrote these at idle moments in New York City. There will be thirteen of them in all, each focusing on an individual Organization member. A challenge for me because first off, I'm not a poet, and second, it's really quite a challenge to get into the Organization members' heads because they're all so...different.

This first poem is from the dear old Superior's perspective, and was one of the more fun ones to write. I don't like him much, but his voice is very fun to capture. He's so...dramatic.

I'm a bit angry at this site for ruining my spacing, so there'll be little "~*~" things to indicate where the stanzas end.

* * *

Darkness

Spreads in the tangled, hungry city beneath;

Stretches like an inky wing above,

Broken only by the moon's soft glow.

~*~

Light:

Kingdom Hearts, a moon bright as gold;

Hope, hearts, wholeness--

And power.

~*~

Power.

So much power.

~*~

It will be mine.

The power of light, of forlorn hearts

Gathered and crying against each other

Like lost infants.

~*~

My hearts! My power!

Pitiful creatures of darkness and instinct,

Creatures pale and slick as skinless bones,

Vessels of darkness, shells of nothingness--

All desire that power.

~*~

But for what? What do they know?

Foolish creatures! Slaves to desire!

Wanting wholeness? For what?

~*~

I know what they do not:

I know the power that trembles in the gathering of hearts.

~*~

I will use light and darkness and become as a god.

* * *

Read and review! And no, I have not abandoned _Tainted but Beautiful_. An update is actually coming later this night!

Anyway, even on this I appreciate comments, because it's my first real attempt at poetry in, like, years. These should be updated relatively fast, since I already have ten written (I have no idea why, but Mar-Mar just gave me such a big...block. And I can't proceed out of order, so...). Every review you send me will be rewarded with an "I heart NY" e-cookie!

A lot of love from Jander Panell


	2. Arrows

**Thirteen Voices**

_II. Arrows_

The poem from Xigbar's perspective. I don't like him that much, so it was a bit hard getting into his head to write this. I feel I did an okay job, though. But you readers can judge that, can't you?

* * *

Bang!

Whistle and whizz!

Hum like a bee in my ear;

Crack like a whip in the air.

~*~

Watch the arrows dart back and forth,

Bright and loud as jungle birds.

Watch them jump from space to space,

From dark hole to dark hole.

Zip! Buzz! Here! There!

Everywhere!

~*~

I know this place,

This base, home, HQ--

Whatever--

Is all white and black and gray:

The colors of those who claim they don't have hearts.

~*~

But who's to say some color won't hurt?

Some sound, some bursts of light and heat,

Won't liven it up a little?

Who's to say that when viewed from upside down,

You won't see something new

Swimming in the sea of gray?

~*~

I figure you can only be serious for so long!

Sometimes a man needs excitement,

Even a man who doesn't exist.

* * *

Remember to drop by a review if you're reading this.

I can't comment on when I'll be updating _Tainted but Beautiful, _since I've become absorbed in that novel of mine again (2/3 the way through...finally), but I swear I'll get it up ASAP. These will come up quickly until Luxord's, because as I said before, I haven't written anyone from Marluxia onwards.


	3. Wind

**Thirteen Voices**

_III. Wind_

Here's the poem from Xaldin's perspective. He's possibly my least favorite Organization member, so I'm positive I frakked up his voice seriously. Not that I care.

* * *

The wind sounds different here.

~*~

Here, this world of angles, corners,

Dread cityscapes, constant rain.

Here, this world without a heart,

Always lit by a false moon.

~*~

Here, the wind does not speak,

Or sigh, or whistle, or moan.

Here, the wind is silent as rain,

Stirring hems of robes but forceless against faces.

~*~

There are no storms, no hurricanes, no sudden gusts.

~*~

The silence, the heartless wind, hangs like a ghost

Long past its welcome,

Striking fear in the hearts of men.

~*~

Perhaps that's why no men live here,

Only hollow husks tossed by but not feeling the wind.

Only we can stand atop the city towers,

And lean into the wind, but not tremble.

~*~

All the better, then, for us.

A heart is heavy, laden with dark desires and fears:

A pitcher overly full.

~*~

We, without hearts, are free.

* * *

I'm really wondering how to get this site's format to preserve my stanzas...

Anyway, I can't promise future updates in anything besides "Thirteen Voices". I'm working on _Tainted _but my novel is currently taking precendence (on chapter 28 out of 36...slowly but surely...). I also have the vague idea for an Axel/Xion story that's really AkuZeku (....), but haven't started writing it yet.

Remember to review!


	4. Scientist

**Thirteen Voices**

_IV. Scientist_

I have no excuse for my long silence on this story seeing as I've already got ten of these buggers written. Though only six typed.

Anyway, this is the poem from Vexen's perspective. It was pretty easy and fun to write because I love Vexen a lot (that goes for all the basement trio).

* * *

Have they forgotten?

The others--us first six, the select, the Elect--

Have they all forgotten?

~*~

Were we not all scientists once?

Did we not labor side-by-side, elbows locked in geodesic patterns,

Sharing the same lab, the same research,

The same thrill of discovery?

~*~

Yet now they all mock me,

Snicker behind hands placed sideways like signposts.

Taunt me with calls of "Failure!", "Don't you have better things to do?"

"What happened to the past experiment?"

~*~

As if they don't know--scientists all!

It's never perfect the first time.

Mine--_ours_--is a precise craft,

Honed to a point finer than a needle over time, over many trials and sharpenings.

~*~

But never matter.

I am confident in my lab underground,

Away from the moon's garish light,

Breathing patterns of mist in the chill air,

Bent over the miniature worlds of petri dishes.

~*~

I preside over my secret kingdom.

* * *

Aww, poor Vekky-chan..._I _appreciate what you do!

I don't know if any of you have noticed a common thread running through all these poems...in fact, I was wondering if I should retitle it so it has more to do with the various Nobodies' reactions/opinions on The World That Never Was.

Again, all reviews are welcome. ^^


	5. Brotherhood

**Thirteen Voices**

_V. Brotherhood_

Wow! Another quick update! I think I'll try to get up all of these up to Zexion's (the last one I have typed up), and once I find that notebook I wrote these all in (yeah, I lost it..._), I'll put up the rest. As I've said before, I only have up to Luxord's written because for some reason...when I came to writing Marluxia's, I just slammed against a very hard brick wall. I don't even know why I have such a block; Marly is one of my favorite characters...

Anyway, this one is for poor underappreciated Lexaeus, yet another corner on the basement triangle. It's easily the shortest poem of them all, but that fits him being a man of few words.

* * *

My comrades flit as birds do,

Words spilling from them in deluges.

~*~

I stand as a dam,

Unmoving and controlling a tide of words.

~*~

Silent, they call me.

Silent and always so certain.

~*~

I cannot call it intuition;

What I know I learned from whispers in the earth.

~*~

Even beneath our city's rain-slick streets,

Is bedrock, the same rock as in every world.

~*~

I trust the rock.

I trust none else.

~*~

We are not comrades; we are bound by ties

Tenuous and weak as silk thread.

~*~

The brotherhood of men without hearts

Is no brotherhood at all.

* * *

That's it for Lexaeus...his was surprisingly easy and fun to write. ^^ For these, I've been taking a lot from the Days Secret Reports (even while lamenting how many of them are hogged by damn spotlight stealers Axel and Xion...). Speaking of which, for those who've played Days, how do you get the Secret Reports in the first place? I'm up to Day 171, and I'm incredibly worried because so far I haven't collected a single Secret Report. And I very badly want to get them...

Now, it's shameless plug time! If any of you check out my profile, you might see me talking about this "**Chrysalis Project**" I have on fictionpress. For now, I've chosen to focus on those stories as opposed to my fanfiction, so if you're interested in seeing more of my writing (and are tired of waiting for me to update _Tainted _=/), feel free to take a look at those stories! _However, _if you _do _look at them, please leave a comment. It's insanely hard to get reviews on fictionpress, as I've discovered to my detriment...so any and all commentary is greatly appreciated, so I'll know that people are least reading them.

...why do I have the feeling that these notes are longer than the actual poem? XD Anyway, R & R, you know the drill!


	6. Masks

**Thirteen Voices**

_VI. Masks_

Hey! Surprise update!

And probably one of my last. If you look at my profile, you'll see that I've sworn off fanfiction for pretty much forever, with the sole exception of finishing _Tainted but Beautiful. _And this one too, I suppose, though I'm stopping at the sixth poem because it's the last I have typed up. Still, it'd be wrong to hold it off any longer.

This is one of the longer ones, which fits Zexion being very literary. Like all of them, it draws from the secret reports; I also remember reading somewhere that Zexion doesn't actually want his heart back, so I incorporated that in here. And there is a very strong XemZex vibe here, though it's all implied. And there's proper formatting, because I finally figured it out! Probably won't go back and redo the others, though.

I've had a great time writing these; if I ever find that notebook again I'll put up the rest I have (all the way up to Luxord's, basically). But otherwise you won't be seeing any more of these.

* * *

They may not know it--certainly never say it--  
But people wear masks.  
Look at them, bright and illusory as a Carnival parade:  
Glittering half masks of drama, bulbous-cheeked masks of laughter.

All illusions.

It strikes me that those with no emotions,  
Those hollower than decaying logs,  
Should have no need for masks.  
Yet they do. They wear them every day, my comrades,  
Hiding the bleak emptiness with smiles and sneers.

Even _he _is not immune: Look at him  
Pontificate about Kingdom Hearts.  
How we shall be complete someday!  
But I see beneath the surface of his orange smile,  
I see the darkness swirling within like trapped smoke.

He does not wish for his heart back.  
Neither do I.

I should like to be able to understand what _he _does, someday--  
The power hidden in our yellow wafer of a moon.  
I strive for his favor and his only.

I have only one loyalty, and that is to the bonds  
That tie us together. The bonds that may now have kinks,  
But still hold taut as tendrils of steel.  
They are what matter.

Not our masks.

* * *

All reviews are appreciated! And I'm sorry about abandoning fanfiction like this, but I have my reasons. I am _much _more active on fictionpress now, so if you're still interested in my writing, take a gander at my account, **Bickazer**. My main project is now **Most Perfect Servant**, a nicely slashy story that's basically a massive pile of self-indulgence. Though it seems people do like it. Perhaps you will too.

That twenty-sixth chapter of _Tainted but Beautiful _is coming. Slowly, yes, and torturously, but it's coming sooner or later. Eventually it will be completed, and that's a promise.


End file.
